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Constitutionality Of SDB Preference Still Undecided

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 07.12.05

Expressing some frustration, the Federal Circuit in Rothe Dev. Corp. v. Dep't of Def. (June 28, 2005) remanded to the district court a second time for a determination of whether the latest enactment of the small disadvantaged business evaluation preference is constitutional, despite the price percentage bonus currently being suspended. The Federal Circuit repeated that the district court must apply strict scrutiny and must review evidence as to what Congress considered in establishing the preference.

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Client Alert | 8 min read | 09.09.25

FTC Stops Defending Rule Banning Noncompete Agreements, Opting Instead for “Aggressive” Case-by-Case Enforcement

On September 5, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) withdrew its appeals of decisions issued by Texas and Florida federal district courts, which enjoined the FTC from enforcing a nationwide rule banning almost all noncompete employment agreements. Companies, however, should not read this decision to mean that their noncompete agreements will no longer be subjected to antitrust scrutiny by federal enforcers. In a statement joined by Commissioner Melissa Holyoak, Chairman Andrew Ferguson stressed that the FTC “will continue to enforce the antitrust laws aggressively against noncompete agreements” and warned that “firms in industries plagued by thickets of noncompete agreements will receive [in the coming days] warning letters from me, urging them to consider abandoning those agreements as the Commission prepares investigations and enforcement actions.”...